Emergency eyewashes and showers are used in a variety of industrial, educational, and governmental settings in which dangerous chemicals are present. Should a user's eyes become contaminated (or the user's body become contaminated) a nearby, easy to use, and safe emergency washing system can provide quick and thorough flushing of the contamination.
Often, these emergency wash systems are located in laboratories or manufacturing areas in which space is at a premium. Therefore, it becomes important to efficiently pack the wash system so that the required plumbing connections are easy and inexpensive to make, and further to use as little “real estate” relative either to the floor or the wall, especially because of pre-existing facilities that need to be plumbed around and designed around. Therefore, it becomes important for the emergency wash system to require as few components as possible, and combine various functions in a single device whenever possible.
Further, as the system and the system components become more tightly packed and various functions combined, it is important to maintain accurate mixing of the hot and cold streams. In some applications, the location and surroundings of the emergency wash system are already crowded with other plumbing, other components, electrical wiring, air ducts, and the like. Space on the manufacturing floor can be especially costly. Therefore, it is important to configure the components of the wash system such that they require relatively little space, and such that they take into account these pre-existing features. This makes the installer and maintainer of the wash system able to make a simple and quick of an installation (or perform maintenance) and not have to contend with other components. By providing this efficient packaging, the emergency wash system achieves two benefits: the wash systems are installed in more locations, and the wash systems are more effectively maintained.
Yet another factor that complicates the problems thus discussed is the desire to use less water in any new water-handling device. Emergency wash systems can benefit from lower flow rates by producing a gentler and more predictable upward stream of water to flush the user's eyes or face. If an emergency washing system is not comfortable, then it is less likely to be used, which defeats the purpose of the emergency wash system. It has been observed that some eye washing systems produce output sprays that are too strong or flow too high to be comfortably used.
Yet another aspect of a low flow emergency system according to some embodiments of the present invention is to provide tepid water by means of a thermostatically controlled cartridge valve that is adapted and configured to shut off the flow of how water if there is a failure of the thermostat. It has been found that an emergency washing system adapted and configured to provide a low flow rate of tepid water can be susceptible to variations as to overall low delivery pressures, as well as relative differences in pressure between the hot and cold inlets. It has been found that utilizing a thermostatically controlled valve assembly adapted and configured to provide a positive shut off in the event of a thermostat failure also provides improved operation of a low flow system.
What is needed are improvements that address one or more of the aforementioned problems. Various embodiments of the present invention provides such novel and nonobvious solutions.